Sports > Schools
Bad weather wreaks havoc on high school sports schedule
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
The inclement weather that descended upon the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex on Tuesday resulted in the postponements of all high school sports scheduled for that night in the Mesquite and Garland areas.
When heavy rains as well as several reported tornados hit the area early on Tuesday afternoon, all MISD and GISD baseball and softball games were quickly postponed.
The more pressing concern was Tuesday night's soccer games. Because area Class 5A and 4A soccer teams are in the playoffs, they are required to meet certification deadlines as mandated by the University Interscholastic League.
If poor weather jeopardizes the site of a playoff game, those teams are encouraged to find an alternative location to meet the deadline, which for this round of games was Tuesday night.
However, due to the widespread nature of the weather, the MISD and GISD soccer teams were able to petition the UIL for a waiver to extend the certification deadline.
All playoff soccer games scheduled for Tuesday were postponed until Wednesday at the same time and locations.
"It was not a big issue (getting the waiver) because they (UIL) just got bombarded with calls," MISD athletic director Steve Bragg said. "They understood the situation we were all in, they just wanted to be notified on what we were planning to do."
The MISD athletic office spent much of the afternoon on Tuesday determining what needed to be done. Another factor was that the double header scheduled at E.H. Hanby Stadium featured Horn and Belton, which would require nearly three hours of travel to arrive on time.
The situation was similar in the GISD athletic office, where officials were optimistic the weather would blow through and the fields would be playable by the night.
GISD assistant athletic director Cliff Odenwald was hopeful the soccer teams could go on as scheduled even into the late afternoon, but the department finally decided around 4:30 p.m. to push the games back to Wednesday.
All MISD and GISD baseball and softball games scheduled for Tuesday were tentatively rescheduled Wednesday dependent upon the state of the fields.
When heavy rains as well as several reported tornados hit the area early on Tuesday afternoon, all MISD and GISD baseball and softball games were quickly postponed.
The more pressing concern was Tuesday night's soccer games. Because area Class 5A and 4A soccer teams are in the playoffs, they are required to meet certification deadlines as mandated by the University Interscholastic League.
If poor weather jeopardizes the site of a playoff game, those teams are encouraged to find an alternative location to meet the deadline, which for this round of games was Tuesday night.
However, due to the widespread nature of the weather, the MISD and GISD soccer teams were able to petition the UIL for a waiver to extend the certification deadline.
All playoff soccer games scheduled for Tuesday were postponed until Wednesday at the same time and locations.
"It was not a big issue (getting the waiver) because they (UIL) just got bombarded with calls," MISD athletic director Steve Bragg said. "They understood the situation we were all in, they just wanted to be notified on what we were planning to do."
The MISD athletic office spent much of the afternoon on Tuesday determining what needed to be done. Another factor was that the double header scheduled at E.H. Hanby Stadium featured Horn and Belton, which would require nearly three hours of travel to arrive on time.
The situation was similar in the GISD athletic office, where officials were optimistic the weather would blow through and the fields would be playable by the night.
GISD assistant athletic director Cliff Odenwald was hopeful the soccer teams could go on as scheduled even into the late afternoon, but the department finally decided around 4:30 p.m. to push the games back to Wednesday.
All MISD and GISD baseball and softball games scheduled for Tuesday were tentatively rescheduled Wednesday dependent upon the state of the fields.
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